Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins are the colors the food industry lists as E140. In our table they are no risk identified: they take no points off a product's score.
- The key finding, from EFSA: Establishes that the single E 140 authorisation covers two separately specified additives with separate EFSA opinions and opposite outcomes: 'in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, chlorophylls and chlorophyllins are authorised with the same E number, E 140. However, according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, separate specifications are defined for chlorophylls (E 140(i)) and chlorophyllins (E 140(ii)). The Panel decided to re-evaluate these two food additives separately, given their different physico-chemical properties.' (European Commission, 'Call for scientific and technical data on the permitted food additives E 140(i) chlorophylls, E 140(ii) chlorophyllins, E 141(i) copper complexes of chlorophylls and E 141(ii) copper complexes of chlorophyllins', published 7 April 2017 (food.ec.europa.eu))
- No child flag. The class, and the points it costs, are the same for a child of any age.
- Where you meet it. They turn up in 2 of the 10,000 packaged foods scanned most on Open Food Facts. Nine in ten of those foods are sold in Europe (counted 26 Sep 2026).
- 2 citations from EFSA and the FDA, each one below.
What Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins do to a score
A packaged food's additive subscore starts at 100 and loses points for each additive on the label; that subscore is a third of the final score. Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins take no points off a product's score. Scan the pack in Sito and the score you get is the one for your own child's age, with this additive named in the reasons. How we score has the whole method.
See what is in your own cupboard
Scan a packaged food and Sito names the additives in it, then scores the product out of 100 for your child's age.
What the sources found
Every classification in our table comes from the citations below, and nothing else. Each finding is our one-line summary of what the source concluded, with the source and reference beside it.
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EFSA
European Commission, 'Call for scientific and technical data on the permitted food additives E 140(i) chlorophylls, E 140(ii) chlorophyllins, E 141(i) copper complexes of chlorophylls and E 141(ii) copper complexes of chlorophyllins', published 7 April 2017 (food.ec.europa.eu)
Establishes that the single E 140 authorisation covers two separately specified additives with separate EFSA opinions and opposite outcomes: 'in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, chlorophylls and chlorophyllins are authorised with the same E number, E 140. However, according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, separate specifications are defined for chlorophylls (E 140(i)) and chlorophyllins (E 140(ii)). The Panel decided to re-evaluate these two food additives separately, given their different physico-chemical properties.' -
FDA
21 CFR 73.125 (Sodium copper chlorophyllin) — Part 73, Subpart A "Foods"; verified against the current eCFR structure
The only chlorophyll-derived colour additive listed for US food use is sodium copper chlorophyllin (the E 141(ii) copper complex, a separate E number from E 140); plain chlorophylls have no corresponding US food colour listing. Relevant to how a US label is read, not to the class assigned here.
Why this class
Clean current EFSA and FDA status. These rows exist so that an unfamiliar additive is never treated as a bad one: a missing row costs a product nothing, and a clean row says so with citations.
Our confidence in this row's classification is medium. Medium or low does not mean the evidence is weak; it means something about the row is still being pinned down, usually a regulatory status confirmed from one source rather than two.
Questions parents ask
Are Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins (E140) safe for kids?
No risk identified. No regulator finding we score, so a product keeps its full additive subscore in Sito. The current status is clean: Establishes that the single E 140 authorisation covers two separately specified additives with separate EFSA opinions and opposite outcomes: 'in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 1333/2008, chlorophylls and chlorophyllins are authorised with the same E number, E 140. However, according to Commission Regulation (EU) No 231/2012, separate specifications are defined for chlorophylls (E 140(i)) and chlorophyllins (E 140(ii)). The Panel decided to re-evaluate these two food additives separately, given their different physico-chemical properties.' (EFSA, European Commission, 'Call for scientific and technical data on the permitted food additives E 140(i) chlorophylls, E 140(ii) chlorophyllins, E 141(i) copper complexes of chlorophylls and E 141(ii) copper complexes of chlorophyllins', published 7 April 2017 (food.ec.europa.eu)).
What is E140?
E140 covers Chlorophylls and chlorophyllins as a group, which our table lists as a color. Our table also lists its forms one by one: E140i and E140ii. Open Food Facts tags it en:e140.
Next to it on the label
The E numbers either side of E140 in our table, then the closest colors by number.
- Blue 1 (E133), low risk, flagged for young children
- Chlorophylls (E140i), no risk identified
- Chlorophyllins (E140ii), moderate risk
- Copper complexes of chlorophylls and chlorophyllins (E141), moderate risk
- Green S (E142), no risk identified
- Green 3 (E143), low risk, flagged for young children